Connecticut Fire Drills: What you need to know

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), which governs private employers in Connecticut, requires that companies with 10 or more employees have written fire prevention and emergency exit plans for each workplace. Employers with fewer than 10 employees may communicate the plans orally. To ensure that the exit plan will work in an actual emergency, it is advisable to rehearse regularly with annual or semiannual drills.

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A more detailed discussion of federal OSH Act emergency and fire plan requirements is available.

State code. While state law no longer requires fire drills for most facilities, the state fire marshal's office recommends that fire drills be conducted for large employers (500 or more employees) and at high-rise facilities or those with significant areas below ground level.

Business evacuation plans. The Connecticut Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health division has sample business evacuation information and plans at http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us.

Municipal evacuation plans. Municipalities in the state have official evacuation plans, required under SARA Title III regulations, which are generalized to all types of disasters, including release of hazardous substances. Contact the emergency manager in your facility’s location for more information, or go to http://www.ct.gov/demhs.

Millstone nuclear plant. The Connecticut Office of Emergency Management has evacuation routes from the Millstone Power Station nuclear power plant in Waterford available at http://www.ct.gov/demhs. Evacuation checklists and other information are available at http://www.ct.gov/demhs.

Record retention is complex and time consuming. However, in addition to complying with various federal and state laws, keeping good, well-organized records can be very helpful in documenting and supporting an organization’s employment actions.
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This special report will discuss how you can ensure your records are in good order, and establish a record-retention policy.